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Many commentators are coming close to consigning President Cyril Ramaphosa to lame duck status. “Just do something”, they cry. One commentator who thinks the President is not only doing something but is succeeding to a large degree is political analyst JP Landman. His recent investment research note, published by Nedbank Private Wealth, provides an interesting perspective we thought we would share with you.

Never mind how much you earn or your standard of education, your age or gender. What really counts when it comes to building your retirement nest egg is that most precious thing called time. The impact on savings can be jaw-dropping.

You may agree with the observation that currently President Cyril Ramaphosa is in a very tight spot. He needs to create policy certainty and restore investor confidence, but his conflict-ridden party appears to be in a state of paralysis and unable to move forward. Faced with limited room for manoeuvre, growing debt and diminishing options to borrow money, one pattern of thought is that it’s time for him to become a bit ruthless.

Joseph Campbell once said, “Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors where there were only walls.” Campbell is saying that real financial security and freedom is not to be found in your job but in your passion. But with bills to pay and many of us responsible for putting food on the table it sounds much easier said than done. But it got us thinking, what if you chased your passion instead of your pension?

According to an old Scottish saying, the father buys it, the son builds it, the grandson sells it, and his son begs. In fact, a US study reveals that as many as 70% of intergenerational transfers of wealth fail. Too many people simply place the blame for this on the “kids” who received the money, but a recent analysis we have come across exposes the real reasons.

Even the greats get it wrong sometimes. Sir Alex Ferguson is widely regarded as the best football manager of all time, yet his win ratio with Manchester United was only 59%. Or viewed from a different angle, he didn’t win close to half (41%) of the matches he managed. And the best fund managers? Same story. Just over half (53%) of the stocks selected into their portfolios outperform the index! So what makes these losers … winners?